Manufacturing method of display apparatus

ABSTRACT

A manufacturing method of a display apparatus includes forming a display layer on a substrate; forming an opening by irradiating laser onto the display layer; and sealing the display layer formed on the substrate. The laser is irradiated according to a spiral movement path, and the opening is formed by irradiating the laser at least twice at the same location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2020-0031316, filed on Mar. 13, 2020, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

One or more embodiments relate to a manufacturing method of a displayapparatus.

2. Description of Related Art

With the rapid development in display field for visually expressingelectrical signal information, a variety of display apparatuses havinggood characteristics, such as, reduced thickness and weight, and lowpower consumption have been developed. Also, to expand a display areawhere an image is displayed, a physical switch, etc. may be removed froma front surface of a display apparatus to introduce an electroniccomponent such as a camera or a sensor in the display area.

To locate the electronic component such as a camera in the display area,the display area has to include a transmission area where light maypass, and the camera or other components may be disposed in thetransmission area. Therefore, the transmission area should haverelatively high transmittance to prevent the degradation in theperformance of the electronic component such as a camera.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide amanufacturing method of a display apparatus having a relatively hightransmittance.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure.

According to one or more embodiments, there is provided a manufacturingmethod of a display apparatus including: forming a display layer on asubstrate; forming an opening by irradiating laser onto the displaylayer; and sealing the display layer formed on the substrate, whereinthe layer is irradiated according to a spiral movement path, and theopening is formed by irradiating the laser at least twice at the samelocation.

In one or more embodiments, the laser may be irradiated twice to formthe opening.

In one or more embodiments, an overlap ratio of spots of the laser firstirradiated may be greater than an overlap ratio of spots of the lasersecondly irradiated.

In one or more embodiments, the substrate formed on the display layermay be located within a first chamber before the irradiation of thelaser, and the first chamber may be configured to maintain a vacuumatmosphere when the laser is irradiated.

In one or more embodiments, in the first chamber, the substrate may befixed to make the display layer face downwards.

In one or more embodiments, the substrate may be attached to anencapsulation substrate in a second chamber different from the firstchamber, and the substrate and the encapsulation substrate are attachedto each other and may directly face each other in the opening.

In one or more embodiments, an intensity of the laser may differaccording to a location of a spiral.

In one or more embodiments, the display apparatus may include a firstarea that is a transmission area, a second area that surrounds the firstarea and configured to display an image, and a third area locatedbetween the first area and the second area, the third area being anon-display area, and the opening may be formed corresponding to thefirst area.

In one or more embodiments, an electronic component may be located at alocation overlapping the opening.

According to one or more embodiments, there is provided a manufacturingmethod of a display apparatus including a first area that is atransmission area, a second area that surrounds the first area andconfigured to display an image, and a third area located between thefirst area and the second area , the third area being a non-displayarea. The manufacturing method includes: forming, on a substrate, adisplay layer including a thin film transistor, an organiclight-emitting diode electrically connected to the thin film transistor,and a capping layer on an opposite electrode of the organiclight-emitting diode; and forming an opening at a location correspondingto the first area by irradiating laser onto the display layer in avacuum atmosphere, wherein the thin film transistor and the organiclight-emitting diode are located in the second area, and when thedisplay layer is formed, a gate insulating layer between a semiconductorlayer and a gate electrode of the thin film transistor, an interlayerinsulating layer on the gate electrode, a planarization layer coveringthe thin film transistor, the opposite electrode, and the capping layer,which are formed in the first, second, and third areas, are removed fromthe first area due to irradiation of the laser.

In one or more embodiments, the manufacturing method may further includeforming a buffer layer on the substrate before the display layer isformed, wherein the buffer layer may be removed from the first area dueto the irradiation of the laser.

In one or more embodiments, the manufacturing method may further includesealing the display layer on the substrate.

In one or more embodiments, the substrate may be attached to anencapsulation substrate, and the substrate and the encapsulationsubstrate may directly face each other in the opening.

In one or more embodiments, an electronic component may be located at alocation overlapping the opening.

In one or more embodiments, the laser may be spirally irradiated.

In one or more embodiments, the laser may be irradiated at least twiceat the same location.

In one or more embodiments, an intensity of the laser at a center of aspiral may be less than an intensity of the laser at an outer portion ofthe spiral.

In one or more embodiments, the laser may be irradiated twice.

In one or more embodiments, an irradiation time of the laser firstirradiated may be greater than an irradiation time of the laser secondlyirradiated.

In one or more embodiments, an overlap ratio of spots of the laser firstirradiated may be greater than an overlap ratio of spots of the lasersecondly irradiated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects and features of example embodiments of thedisclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a display apparatus accordingto one or more embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of across-section taken along the line I-I′ of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the display apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an equivalent circuit diagram of apixel of the display apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of a part of the display apparatus ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of across-section taken along the line II-II' of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a part of first to fourthareas of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are schematic cross-sectional views of a manufacturingmethod of the display apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are schematic plan views of a method of forming anopening of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the number of particles remaining in theopening when the opening of FIG. 7 is formed according to the method ofFIGS. 10 and 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals refer to like elements throughout. In this regard, the presentembodiments may have different forms and should not be construed asbeing limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Accordingly, theembodiments are merely described below, by referring to the drawings, toexplain aspects of the present description. As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. Throughout the disclosure, the expression “atleast one of a, b or c” indicates only a, only b, only c, both a and b,both a and c, both b and c, all of a, b, and c, or variations thereof.

As the disclosure allows for various changes and numerous embodiments,particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and describedin detail in the written description. The attached drawings forillustrating example embodiments of the present disclosure are referredto in order to gain a sufficient understanding of the presentdisclosure, the merits thereof, and the objectives accomplished by theimplementation of the present disclosure. The disclosure may, however,be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as beinglimited to the embodiments set forth herein.

The present disclosure will now be described more fully with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of thedisclosure are shown. Like reference numerals in the drawings denotelike elements, and thus their description will be omitted.

It will be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,” etc.may be used herein to describe various components, these componentsshould not be limited by these terms. These components are only used todistinguish one component from another.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or“comprising” used herein specify the presence of stated features orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features or components.

It will be understood that when a layer, region, or component isreferred to as being formed on another layer, region, or component, itcan be directly or indirectly formed on the other layer, region, orcomponent. For example, intervening layers, regions, or components maybe present.

Sizes of components in the drawings may be exaggerated for convenienceof explanation. In other words, because sizes and thicknesses ofcomponents in the drawings are arbitrarily illustrated for convenienceof explanation, the following embodiments are not limited thereto.

When a certain embodiment may be implemented differently, a specificprocess order may be performed differently from the described order. Forexample, two consecutively described processes may be performedsubstantially at the same time or performed in an order opposite to thedescribed order.

It will be understood that when a component, such as a layer, a film, aregion, or a plate, is referred to as being connected to anothercomponent, the component can be directly connected to the othercomponent or indirectly connected thereto with intervening componentstherebetween. For example, when a component, such as a layer, a film, aregion, or a plate, is referred to as being electrically connected toanother component, the component can be directly electrically connectedto the other component or indirectly connected thereto with interveningcomponents therebetween.

As used herein, a plan view is a view that can be seen when all elementson the same layer or different layers are visible on the same plane, ora view from the top or from a direction orthogonal to a substrate onwhich elements are located assuming that all relevant elements arevisible.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a display apparatus accordingto one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a display apparatus 10 may include a first area A1and a second area A2 surrounding the first area A1.

The first area A1 may be an area where a component, which is capable ofproviding various functions to the display apparatus 10, is disposed(e.g., located). For example, when the component includes a sensor, acamera, or the like, that uses light, the first area A1 may include atransmission area where the light for the sensor or the light directedto the camera may penetrate.

The second area A2 may be an area where pixels, e.g., an array of thepixels, may be arranged, and the second area A2 may display an imagethrough the array of the pixels. The first area A1 may be entirelysurrounded by the second area A2. Each pixel included in the displayapparatus 10 may be a display element capable of emitting light of acertain color and may include a light-emitting diode. The light-emittingdiode may include an organic light-emitting diode including an organicmaterial as an emission layer. In one or more embodiments, thelight-emitting diode may include an inorganic light-emitting diode. Inone or more embodiments, the light-emitting diode may include quantumdots as an emission layer. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation,the light-emitting diode includes an organic light-emitting diode(OLED).

A third area A3 may be disposed between the first area A1 and the secondarea A2. The third area A3 may be a non-display area where no pixels arearranged and wires bypassing the first area A1 are arranged.

Like the third area A3, a fourth area A4 surrounding the second area A2extending along edges (or a periphery) of the second area A2 may also bea non-display area where no pixels are arranged, and in the fourth areaA4, various wires, internal circuits, and the like may be arranged.

FIG. 1 illustrates that the first area A1 is located at a centralportion of the second area A2 in a width direction (e.g., ±x direction)of the display apparatus 10, but in another embodiment, the first areaA1 may be located at a left side or a right side with respect to thecenter of the second area A2 in the width direction of the displayapparatus 10. Also, the first area A1 may be located at variouslocations such as an upper portion, a central portion, and a lowerportion in a lengthwise direction (e.g., a ±y direction) of the displayapparatus 10.

Also, FIG. 1 illustrates that the display apparatus 10 includes onefirst area A1, but in another embodiment, the display apparatus 10 mayinclude a plurality of first areas A1.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of across-section taken along the line I-I′ of FIG. 1;

Referring to FIG. 2, the display apparatus 10 includes a display layer200 disposed on the substrate 100.

The substrate 100 may include a glass material or polymer resin. Forexample, the substrate 100 may include a glass material includingsilicon oxide (SiO2) as a main component or may include resin such asreinforced plastics.

The display layer 200 may be disposed corresponding to the second areaA2 and may include a plurality of pixels. Each pixel of the displaylayer 200 may include a pixel circuit and a display element electricallyconnected to the pixel circuit. The pixel circuit may include atransistor and a storage capacitor, and the display element may includea light-emitting diode, e.g., an organic light-emitting diode OLED.

The display layer 200 may be covered by an encapsulation substrate 300.The encapsulation substrate 300 may include a glass material or polymerresin. For example, the encapsulation substrate 300 may include a glassmaterial including SiO₂ as a main component or may include resin such asreinforced plastics. The encapsulation substrate 300 may face thesubstrate 100, and a sealant ST may be disposed between the substrate100 and the encapsulation substrate 300.

The sealant ST may be in the fourth area A4 and may entirely surroundthe display layer 200. For example, on a plan view, the second area A2may be entirely surrounded by the sealant ST.

The sealant ST may include an inorganic material, for example, frit. Thesealant ST may be formed by using a dispenser or a screen printingmethod. In some cases, frit may include a powder type glass basedmaterial, but in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, thefrit also includes a paste state in which a main component such as SiO₂,a laser or infrared absorber, an organic binder, a filler for decreasinga thermal expansion coefficient, or the like, are included. The frit maybe hardened from the paste state after the organic binder and moistureare removed through a drying or firing process. The laser or infraredabsorber may include a transition metal compound. A laser beam may beused as a thermal source for attaching the substrate 100 and theencapsulation substrate 300 to each other by hardening the sealant ST.

However, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure are notlimited thereto, and the display layer 200 may be sealed by a thin filmencapsulation layer formed by stacking at least one inorganicencapsulation layer and at least one organic encapsulation layer.

The display layer 200 may include an opening TH formed by removing atleast a portion of the display layer 200. The opening TH may be definedas a region where all layers stacked on the substrate 100 to form thedisplay layer 200 are removed, at a location corresponding to the firstarea A1. A component may overlap the first area A1, and light emittedfrom the component to the outside or directed to the component from theoutside may pass through the first area A1 that is a transmission area.For example, the component may be disposed under the substrate 100 andmay include an electronic component. Therefore, to prevent (or reduce)the degradation in the performance of the component, the first area A1may have great transmittance, and to this end, the existence of foreignmaterials such as particles in the opening TH has to be prevented orreduced.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the display apparatus of FIG. 1 andFIG. 4 illustrates an example of an equivalent circuit diagram of apixel of the display apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the display apparatus 10 of FIG. 1according to a different aspect from FIG. 2.

As described above, the display apparatus 10 may include the first areaA1, the second area A2 surrounding the first area A1, the third area A3between the first area A1 and the second area A2, and the fourth area A4surrounding the second area A2.

The display apparatus 10 may include pixels P arranged in the secondarea A2. As shown in FIG. 4, each pixel P may include the pixel circuitPC and the display element electrically connected to the pixel circuitPC, for example, the organic light-emitting diode OLED. The pixelcircuit PC may include a first transistor T1, a second transistor T2,and a storage capacitor Cst. The pixel P may emit red light, greenlight, blue light, or white light. The first transistor T1 and thesecond transistor T2 may be thin film transistors.

The first transistor T1, that is a driving transistor, may be connectedto a driving power line PL and a storage capacitor Cst, and may controla driving current flowing from the driving power line PL to the organiclight-emitting diode OLED in response to a value of a voltagecorresponding to the amount of charge stored in the storage capacitorCst. The organic light-emitting diode OLED may emit light havingbrightness corresponding to the driving current. A second power voltageELVSS may be supplied to an opposite electrode (e.g., a cathode) of theorganic light-emitting diode OLED.

The second transistor T2, that is a switching transistor, may beconnected to a scan line SL and a data line DL and may transmit a datavoltage input from the data line DL to the first transistor T1 accordingto a switching voltage input from the scan line SL.

The storage capacitor Cst may be connected to the second transistor T2and the driving power line PL and may store a voltage (or a charge)corresponding to a difference between a voltage received from the secondtransistor T2 and a first power voltage ELVDD provided to the drivingpower line PL.

FIG. 4 illustrates that the pixel circuit PC includes two transistors T1and T2 and one storage capacitor Cst, but in another embodiment, thenumber of transistors and the number of storage capacitors may varyaccording to a design of the pixel circuit PC.

Referring back to FIG. 3, the third area A3 may surround the first areaA1. The first area A1 may be a transmission area through which light maypass, and the third area A3 may be an area where display elements, suchas, organic light-emitting diodes to emit light, are not arranged.Signal lines for providing signals to the pixels P located around thefirst area A1 may pass through the third area A3. This will be describedwith reference to FIG. 5.

In the fourth area A4, first and second scan drivers 1100 and 1200 forrespectively providing scan signals to the pixels, a data driver 1300for providing a data signal to each pixel P, a main power wiring (notshown) for providing first and second power voltages, etc. may bearranged. The first scan driver 1100 and the second scan driver 1200 maybe respectively disposed in the fourth area A4, at respective sides ofthe second area A2 with the second area A2 therebetween.

FIG. 3 illustrates that the data driver 1300 is disposed close to oneside of the substrate 100, but in another embodiment, the data driver1300 may be disposed on a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB)electrically connected to a pad disposed on a side of the displayapparatus 10.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of a part of the display apparatus ofFIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 5, some of the pixels P formed in the second area A2may be apart from each other with respect to the first area A1. Forexample, the first area A1 may be located between two pixels P arrangedin the ±x direction of FIG. 5. Similarly, the first area A1 may belocated between the two pixels P arranged in the ±y direction of FIG. 5.

The pixels P, which are arranged in the ±y direction with the fist areaA1 therebetween, may be electrically connected to the same data line DL,and the data line DL may be arranged to bypass in the third area A3along an outer portion of the first area A1.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a first data line DL-L1 and a seconddata line DL-L2, which are apart from each other with the first area A1therebetween, may be connected by a bypass wire DWL. The bypass wire DWLmay be connected to the first data line DL-L1 and the second data lineDL-L2 through a contact hole. The bypass wire DWL may be disposed in thethird area A3 to bypass the first area A1.

In another embodiment, the first data line DL-L1, the second data lineDL-L2, and the bypass wire DWL connecting the first data line DL-L1 tothe second data line DL-L2 may be integrally formed. For example, thedata line DL may be formed to extend from the second area A2 and bypassthe first area A1 in the third area A3.

The two pixels P arranged in the ±x direction with the first area A1therebetween may be electrically connected to different scan lines SL,respectively. Based on the drawings, the scan lines SL arranged on aleft side of the first area A1 may be electrically connected to thefirst scan driver 1100 described with reference to FIG. 3, and the scanlines SL arranged on a right side of the first area A1 may beelectrically connected to the second scan driver 1200 described withreference to FIG. 3.

In another embodiment, when the second scan driver 1200 (of FIG. 3) isnot formed, the pixels P, which are arranged in the ±x direction withthe first area A1 therebetween, may be connected to the same scan line,and like the data line DL, the above-described scan line SL may includea bypassing portion extending in a circular-arc direction of the firstarea A1 in the third area A3.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example of across-section taken along the line II-II' of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the pixel circuit PC may be disposed on thesubstrate 100, and the organic light-emitting diode OLED electricallyconnected to the pixel circuit PC may be disposed on the pixel circuitPC. The substrate 100 may include glass or polymer resin. The substrate100 may be a single layer or may include multiple layers.

A buffer layer 101 may be disposed on the substrate 100 to prevent orreduce (or protect from) the penetration of foreign materials, moisture,or external air from the bottom of the substrate 100, and provide aplanar surface on the substrate 100. The buffer layer 101 may include aninorganic material such as an oxide or a nitride, an organic material,or a composite of organic/inorganic materials and may have asingle-layer structure or a multilayered structure of the organic orinorganic materials. A barrier layer (not shown) may be further disposedbetween the substrate 100 and the buffer layer 101, the barrier layermay prevent (or protect from) the penetration of external air, or thelike, to the electronic components of the apparatus 10.

The pixel circuit PC may be disposed on the buffer layer 101. The pixelcircuit PC may include a thin film transistor TFT and the storagecapacitor Cst. The thin film transistor TFT may include a semiconductorlayer Act, a gate electrode GE, a source electrode SE, and a drainelectrode DE. In the present embodiment, a top gate type in which thegate electrode GE is disposed on the semiconductor layer Act with a gateinsulating layer 201 therebetween is illustrated, but according toanother embodiment, the thin film transistor TFT may be a bottom gatetype.

The semiconductor layer Act may include polysilicon. In one or moreembodiments, the semiconductor layer Act may include amorphous silicon,an oxide semiconductor, an organic semiconductor, or the like. The gateelectrode GE may include a low-resistance metal material. The gateelectrode GE may include a conductive material such as molybdenum (Mo),aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), or titanium (Ti), and may be a single-layeror multi-layers including the above material(s).

The gate insulating layer 201 between the semiconductor layer Act andthe gate electrode GE may include an inorganic insulating material, suchas, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide,titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, or hafnium oxide. The gate insulatinglayer 201 may be a single-layer or multi-layers including the abovematerial(s).

The source electrode SE and the drain electrode DE may include aconductive material such as Mo, Al, Cu, or Ti, and may be a single-layeror multi-layers including the above material(s). In one or moreembodiments, each of the source electrode SE and the drain electrode DEmay have a multilayered structure of Ti/Al/Ti.

The storage capacitor Cst may include a lower electrode CE1 and an upperelectrode CE2 that overlap each other with a first interlayer insulatinglayer 203 therebetween. The storage capacitor Cst may overlap the thinfilm transistor TFT. FIG. 6 illustrates that the gate electrode GE ofthe thin film transistor TFT is the lower electrode CE1 of the storagecapacitor Cst. In another embodiment, the storage capacitor Cst may notoverlap the thin film transistor TFT. The storage capacitor Cst may becovered by a second interlayer insulating layer 205.

The first interlayer insulating layer 203 and the second interlayerinsulating layer 205 may each include an inorganic insulating layer suchas silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide,titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, or hafnium oxide. The first interlayerinsulating layer 203 and the second interlayer insulating layer 205 mayeach include a single-layer or multi-layers including the abovematerial(s).

The pixel circuit PC including the thin film transistor TFT and thestorage capacitor Cst may be covered by a planarization layer 207. Theplanarization layer 207 may have an upper surface that is approximatelyflat or substantially flat. The planarization layer 207 may includeorganic materials, such as, a general-purpose polymer, such as,polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) or polystyrene (PS), a polymer derivativehaving a phenol-based group, or an acryl-based polymer, an imide-basedpolymer, an aryl-ether-based polymer, an amide-based polymer, afluorine-based polymer, a p-xylene-based polymer, a vinyl alcohol-basedpolymer, and a blend thereof. In one or more embodiments, theplanarization layer 207 may include polyimide.

A pixel electrode 221 may be formed on the planarization layer 207. Thepixel electrode 221 may include conductive oxide such as indium tinoxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide(In₂O₃), indium gallium oxide (IGO), or aluminum zinc oxide (AZO). Inanother embodiment, the pixel electrode 221 may include reflectivelayers including silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg), Al, platinum (Pt),palladium (Pd), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), neodymium (Nd), iridium (Ir),chromium (Cr), or a compound thereof. In another embodiment, the pixelelectrode 221 may further include layers disposed on and under thereflective layer, the layers including ITO, IZO, ZnO, or In₂O₃.

A pixel-defining layer 215 may be formed on the pixel electrode 221. Thepixel-defining layer 215 may include an opening exposing an uppersurface of the pixel electrode 221 and may cover edges of the pixelelectrode 221. The pixel-defining layer 215 may include an organicinsulating material. In one or more embodiments, the pixel-defininglayer 215 may include an inorganic insulating material, such as, siliconnitride, silicon oxynitride or silicon oxide. In one or moreembodiments, the pixel-defining layer 215 may include an organicinsulating layer and an inorganic insulating layer.

On the pixel-defining layer 215, a spacer 217 may be formed. The spacer217 may include an organic insulating layer such as polyimide. In one ormore embodiments, the spacer 217 may include an inorganic insulatingmaterial such as silicon nitride or silicon oxide, or an organicinsulating material and an inorganic insulating material.

In one or more embodiments, the spacer 217 may include a materialdifferent from that of the pixel-defining layer 215. In one or moreembodiments, the spacer 217 may include the same material as thepixel-defining layer 215, and in such a case, the pixel-defining layer215 and the spacer 217 may be concurrently (e.g., substantiallysimultaneously) formed through mask processes using a halftone mask. Thepixel-defining layer 215 and the spacer 217 may each include polyimide.

An intermediate layer 222 may include an emission layer 222 b. Theemission layer 222 b may include, for example, an organic material. Theemission layer 222 b may include a polymer organic material or alow-molecular weight organic material emitting light of a certain color.The intermediate layer 222 may further include a first functional layer222 a disposed under the emission layer 222 b and/or a second functionallayer 222 c disposed on the emission layer 222 b.

The first functional layer 222 a may be a single layer or multi-layers.For example, when the first functional layer 222 a includes a polymermaterial, the first functional layer 222 a may include a hole transportlayer (HTL) that has a single-layer structure and may includepoly-(3,4)-ethylene-dihydroxy thiophene (PEDOT) or polyaniline (PANI).When the first functional layer 222 a includes a low-molecular weightmaterial, the first functional layer 222 a may include a hole injectionlayer (HIL) and a hole transport layer (HTL).

The second functional layer 222 c may be selectively formed. Forexample, when the first functional layer 222 a and the emission layer222 b include polymer organic materials, the second functional layer 222c may be formed. The second functional layer 222 c may be a single layeror multi-layers. The second functional layer 222 c may include anelectron transport layer (ETL) and/or an electron injection layer (EIL).

The emission layer 222 b of the intermediate layer 222 may be disposedon each pixel in the second area A2. The emission layer 222 b mayoverlap an opening of the pixel-defining layer 215 and/or the pixelelectrode 221. Each of the first and second functional layer 222 a and222 c of the intermediate layer 222 may be a single body and may beformed in the second area A2 as well as the third area A3 described withreference to FIG. 5.

The opposite electrode 223 (of the OLED) may include a conductivematerial having a low work function. For example, the opposite electrode223 may include a translucent or transparent layer including Ag, Mg, Al,Pt, Pd, Au, Ni, Nd, Ir, Cr, Li, Ca, or an alloy thereof. In one or moreembodiments, the opposite electrode 223 may further include, on thetranslucent or transparent layer including the above material, a layerincluding ITO, IZO, ZnO, or In₂O₃. The opposite electrode 223 may be asingle body electrode and may cover the pixel electrodes 221 in thesecond area A2.

On the opposite electrode 223, a capping layer 230 for improving theextraction efficiency of the light emitted from the organiclight-emitting diode OLED may be disposed. The capping layer 230 mayinclude LiF, an inorganic material, and/or an organic material.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a part of first to fourthareas of FIG. 1, FIGS. 8 and 9 are schematic cross-sectional views of amanufacturing method of the display apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 10and 11 are schematic plan views of a method of forming an opening ofFIG. 7. FIG. 12 is a graph showing the number of particles remaining inthe opening when the opening of FIG. 7 is formed according to the methodof FIGS. 10 and 11.

Referring to FIG. 7, the display layer 200 is disposed on the substrate100. The display layer 200 may have a structure in which multiple layersare stacked. For example, on the substrate 100, the buffer layer 101,the gate insulating layer 201, the first interlayer insulating layer203, the second interlayer insulating layer 205, and the planarizationlayer 207 may be sequentially stacked. The pixel circuit PC may includethe thin film transistor (TFT) and the storage capacitor (Cst), and thesemiconductor layer and the electrodes of the thin film transistor (TFT)and the electrodes of the storage capacitor (Cst) may be disposed on theaforementioned insulating layers (e.g., 201, 203, 205), respectively.

On the planarization layer 207, the pixel electrode 221 may be disposed.For example, the pixel electrode 221 is disposed in the second area A2.The pixel electrode 221 may be connected to the thin film transistor ofthe pixel circuit PC through a contact hole of the planarization layer207. For example, the pixel electrode 221 may be connected to the drainelectrode DE of the thin film transistor TFT of the pixel circuit PCthrough a contact hole penetrating the planarization layer 207.

The pixel-defining layer 215 disposed on the pixel electrode 221 mayinclude an opening overlapping the pixel electrode 221, and the openingof the pixel-defining layer 215 may define an emission area EA.

On the pixel-defining layer 215, the first functional layer 222 a, theemission layer 222 b, the second functional layer 222 c, the oppositeelectrode 223, and the capping layer 230, which are sequentiallystacked, may be disposed. Materials and characteristics of the displaylayer 200, which is disposed on the substrate 100, are the same as thosedescribed above with reference to FIG. 6.

The display layer 200 may include the opening TH at the locationcorresponding to the first area A1. The opening TH may be formed byremoving the layers included in the display layer 200 described above.In one or more embodiments, when the display layer 200 is formed, thebuffer layer 101, the gate insulating layer 201, the first interlayerinsulating layer 203, the second interlayer insulating layer 205, theplanarization layer 207, the first functional layer 222 a, the secondfunctional layer 222 c, the opposite electrode 223, and the cappinglayer 230, which are formed over the first area A1, the second area A2,and the third area A3, may be removed from the opening TH. For example,in the opening TH, portions from the buffer layer 101 to the cappinglayer 230 are removed, and accordingly, no layers are stacked on thesubstrate 100, thereby exposing a surface of the substrate 100. In thefirst area A1, the substrate 100 may directly face the encapsulationsubstrate 300. As another example, the opening TH is filled with atransparent filler, and thus the structural stability of the displayapparatus 10 (of FIG. 1) may be improved.

In one or more embodiments, a component 20 may overlap the first areaA1. For example, the component 20 may be disposed under the substrate100 (e.g., in the first area A1). The component 20 may be an electroniccomponent configured to use light and/or sound. For example, theelectronic component may include a sensor, for example, an infraredsensor, which receives and uses light, a camera that captures an imageby receiving light, a sensor that measures a distance or recognizesfingerprints, etc. by outputting and detecting light or sound, a smalllamp that emits light, a speaker that outputs sound, or the like. In thecase of the component using light, light in various wavelength bands,such as, visible rays, infrared rays, or ultraviolet rays may be used.

Therefore, when the light transmittance of the first area A1 is low, theperformance of the component 20 may degrade, and to prevent (or reduce)such degradation, the existence of foreign materials such as particlesin the opening TH, during the formation of the opening TH, has to beprevented or reduced.

The encapsulation substrate 300 may face the substrate 100 and adherethereto by the sealant ST in the fourth area A4. The encapsulationsubstrate 300 may include the same material and may have the samerefractive index as the substrate 100. For example, the substrate 100and the encapsulation substrate 300 may have refractive indices betweenabout 1.3 and about 1.7, for example, about 1.5.

In the third area A3, the layers stacked on the substrate 100 are notremoved (as in the second area A2), however, the pixel electrode 221 isnot disposed. Thus, the third area A3 corresponds to the non-displayarea. As described above, the bypass wire DWL bypassing the first areaA1 may be disposed in the third area A3.

Hereinafter, a manufacturing method of the display apparatus isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 8-11. The manufacturing method of thedisplay apparatus according to one or more embodiments may includeforming the display layer 200 on the substrate 100, forming the openingTH (of FIG. 7) by irradiating laser onto the display layer 200, andattaching the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 300 to eachother (e.g., by the sealant ST).

The display layer 200 formed on the substrate 100 is the same as thatdescribed above, and a specific manufacturing method will not bedescribed. When the display layer 200 is formed on the substrate 100 asshown in FIG. 8, the substrate 100 is located in a first chamber 1, andpart of the display layer 200 is removed by irradiating laser L onto thedisplay layer 200 as shown in FIG. 9, thereby forming the opening TH (ofFIG. 7).

When the substrate 100 includes resin such as reinforced plastics, thesubstrate 100 may be disposed on a carrier substrate, and the opening TH(of FIG. 7) may be formed by irradiating the laser L onto the displaylayer 200 after the formation of the display layer 200 on the substrate100. In such a case, the substrate 100 including the resin such asreinforced plastics is not removed by the irradiation of the laser. Forexample, only a part of the display layer 200 formed on the substrate100 is removed by the irradiation of the laser to form the opening TH(of FIG. 7), and after the completion of the manufacturing process ofthe display apparatus 10 (of FIG. 1), the substrate 100 including theresin such as reinforced plastics may be separated from the carriersubstrate.

The substrate 100 may be disposed on an electrostatic chuck 2 in thefirst chamber 1. For example, based on the drawing, the substrate 100may be fixed to the electrostatic chuck 2 to make the display layer 200face downwards.

For example, a laser irradiation unit 3 that irradiates the laser L maybe disposed outside the substrate 100, and the laser L may be irradiatedinto the first chamber 1 through a transparent window W included in thefirst chamber 1. The irradiated laser L may be Green fs laser, but oneor more embodiments are not limited thereto. In one or more embodiments,the laser irradiation unit 3 that irradiates the laser L may be locatedwithin the first chamber 1. Also, FIG. 9 illustrates that the laser L isdirectly irradiated onto the display layer 200, but as another example,the laser L may be irradiated toward the substrate 100, and only a partof the display layer 200 may be removed without damaging the substrate100 by irradiation of the laser L.

The first chamber 1 may maintain the vacuum atmosphere when the laser Lis irradiated such that particles generated when a portion of thedisplay layer 200 is removed by the irradiation of laser L may drop (orfall down). Also, the first chamber 1 includes a baffle 4 for collectingthe falling particles to prevent (or reduce) contamination of the firstchamber 1 by particle scattering or adhesion of the particles to thedisplay layer 200.

The laser L may be spirally moved, and the opening TH (of FIG. 7) may beformed. Also, the laser L may be irradiated at least twice. For example,the laser L may be irradiated twice. Also, an overlap ratio of spots ofthe irradiated laser L may differ according to the number ofirradiations of the laser L. For example, when the opening TH (of FIG.7) is formed by irradiating the laser L twice, an overlap ratio of spotsof the laser L irradiated first may be greater than an overlap ratio ofspots of the laser L secondly irradiated. In other words, an irradiationtime of the laser L irradiated first may be greater than that of thelaser L secondly irradiated.

When the opening TH (of FIG. 7) is formed by irradiating the laser Ltwice, the laser L irradiated first may be used to form the opening THby removing the display layer 200, and the laser L secondly irradiatedmay be used to complete the opening TH (of FIG. 7) and remove particlesremaining therein. Therefore, by irradiating the laser L two or moretimes at the same location when the opening TH (of FIG. 7) is formed,the existence of the particles in the opening TH (of FIG. 7) may beprevented or reduced.

In one or more embodiments, the spiral irradiation of the laser mayeffectively prevent the particles from scattering in a laser irradiationdirection. Therefore, by preventing (or reducing) the attachment of theparticles to other portions of the display layer 200, the degradation inthe display quality of the display apparatus 10 (of FIG. 1) may beprevented or reduced.

When the laser L is irradiated, an intensity of the laser L irradiatedonce may differ according to locations of spots of the laser L. In oneor more embodiments, during the spiral irradiation of the laser L, theintensity of the laser L at the center of a spiral may be less than thatof the laser L on an outer portion of the spiral. Thus, the opening TF(of FIG. 7) having an accurate shape may be formed.

FIGS. 10 and 11 schematically illustrate a laser irradiation method toform the opening TH. First of all, FIG. 10 illustrates an conventionallaser irradiation method, and the laser is irradiated rectilinearly inone direction. In one or more embodiments, the laser L is irradiatedrectilinearly in one direction in a region where the opening TH isformed and then irradiated rectilinearly in the direction again in anext row. FIG. 11 illustrates a method whereby the laser is irradiatedby forming a spiral movement path.

When the opening TH is formed according to the method of FIG. 10,because the laser is discontinuously irradiated by changing rows, adiscontinuous pattern is inevitably formed at the edge of the openingTH. However, when the opening TH is formed according to the method ofFIG. 11, the boundary of the opening TH is smoothly formed.

Also, FIG. 12 illustrates the number of particles remaining in theopening TH when the opening TH is formed according to the method of eachof FIGS. 10 and 11. The number of particles may be obtained by countingthe particles having sizes of at least 20 μm.

For example, FIG. 12(1) indicates the number of particles remaining ineach opening TH after 25 openings TH are formed according to the methodof FIG. 10. FIG. 12(2) indicates the number of particles remaining ineach openings TH when each of 25 openings TH was formed by spirallyirradiating the laser twice according to the method of FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the opening TH is formed according to themethod illustrated by FIG. 10, the number of particles in the opening THmay be substantially equal to at least 20 or 50 at most. On thecontrary, when the opening TH is formed by spirally irradiating thelaser twice according to the method illustrated by FIG. 11 of thepresent disclosure, the particles remaining in the opening TH may bereduced to at least 2, which is reduced by 95% or more compared to FIG.12(1). As a result, the transmittance of the first area A1 (of FIG. 7)may be maintained to 90% or more.

When there are five particles having a size of about 20 μm in theopening TH, the transmittance of the first area A1 (of FIG. 7) may bedecreased by about 0.26% to about 0.57%. When there are ten particles,the transmittance of the first area A1 (of FIG. 7) may be decreased byabout 0.51% to about 1.15%. For example, according to the presentdisclosure, when the opening TH is formed, the existence of theparticles may be prevented or reduced, and thus, the first area A1 (ofFIG. 7) may have great transmittance. Also, the degradation in theperformance of the component 20 (of FIG. 7) overlapping the first areaA1 may be prevented or reduced.

After the opening TH is formed, the substrate 100 is taken out of thefirst chamber 1, and the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate300 are transferred to a second chamber different from the first chamber1. Then, the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 300 may beattached to each other by the sealant ST. For example, the sealant ST isspread on the substrate 100 to surround the display layer 200, and whilethe substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 300 adhere to eachother, the sealant ST, on which the laser is irradiated, is hardened,thus attaching the substrate 100 and the encapsulation substrate 300 toeach other.

As another example, when the substrate 100 includes resin such asreinforced plastics, the display layer 200 on the substrate 100 may besealed by an encapsulation layer including an inorganic encapsulationlayer and an organic encapsulation layer alternately stacked. Forexample, the encapsulation layer may include a first inorganicencapsulation layer, an organic encapsulation layer, and a secondinorganic encapsulation layer that are sequentially stacked.

According to one or more embodiments, as a transmission area has greattransmittance, the degradation in the performance of a component, forexample, a camera, which is disposed in the transmission area, may beminimized or reduced.

It should be understood that embodiments described herein should beconsidered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each embodimentshould typically be considered as available for other similar featuresor aspects in other embodiments. While one or more embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the drawings, it will be understood by thoseof ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and detailsmay be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A manufacturing method of a display apparatuscomprising: forming a display layer on a substrate; forming an openingby irradiating laser onto the display layer; and sealing the displaylayer formed on the substrate, wherein the laser is irradiated accordingto a spiral movement path, and the opening is formed by irradiating thelaser at least twice at the same location.
 2. The manufacturing methodof claim 1, wherein the laser is irradiated twice to form the opening.3. The manufacturing method of claim 2, wherein an overlap ratio ofspots of the laser first irradiated is greater than an overlap ratio ofspots of the laser secondly irradiated.
 4. The manufacturing method ofclaim 1, wherein the substrate formed on the display layer is locatedwithin a first chamber before the irradiation of the laser, and whereinthe first chamber is configured to maintain a vacuum atmosphere when thelaser is irradiated.
 5. The manufacturing method of claim 4, wherein, inthe first chamber, the substrate is fixed to make the display layer facedownwards.
 6. The manufacturing method of claim 4, wherein the substrateis attached to an encapsulation substrate in a second chamber differentfrom the first chamber, and wherein the substrate and the encapsulationsubstrate are attached to each other and directly face each other in theopening.
 7. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein an intensity ofthe laser differs according to a location of a spiral.
 8. Themanufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the display apparatus comprisesa first area that is a transmission area, a second area that surroundsthe first area and configured to display an image, and a third arealocated between the first area and the second area, the third area beinga non-display area, and wherein the opening is formed corresponding tothe first area.
 9. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein anelectronic component is located at a location overlapping the opening.10. A manufacturing method of a display apparatus comprising a firstarea that is a transmission area, a second area that surrounds the firstarea and configured to display an image, and a third area locatedbetween the first area and the second area, the third area being anon-display area, the manufacturing method comprising: forming, on asubstrate, a display layer comprising a thin film transistor, an organiclight-emitting diode electrically connected to the thin film transistor,and a capping layer on an opposite electrode of the organiclight-emitting diode; and forming an opening at a location correspondingto the first area by irradiating laser onto the display layer in avacuum atmosphere, wherein the thin film transistor and the organiclight-emitting diode are located in the second area, and wherein whenthe display layer is formed, a gate insulating layer between asemiconductor layer and a gate electrode of the thin film transistor, aninterlayer insulating layer on the gate electrode, a planarization layercovering the thin film transistor, the opposite electrode, and thecapping layer, which are formed in the first, second, and third areas,are removed from the first area due to irradiation of the laser.
 11. Themanufacturing method of claim 10, further comprising: forming a bufferlayer on the substrate before the display layer is formed, wherein thebuffer layer is removed from the first area due to the irradiation ofthe laser.
 12. The manufacturing method of claim 11, further comprisingsealing the display layer on the substrate.
 13. The manufacturing methodof claim 12, wherein the substrate is attached to an encapsulationsubstrate, and the substrate and the encapsulation substrate directlyface each other in the opening.
 14. The manufacturing method of claim11, wherein an electronic component is located at a location overlappingthe opening.
 15. The manufacturing method of claim 10, wherein the laseris spirally irradiated.
 16. The manufacturing method of claim 15,wherein the laser is irradiated at least twice at the same location. 17.The manufacturing method of claim 16, wherein an intensity of the laserat a center of a spiral is less than an intensity of the laser at anouter portion of the spiral.
 18. The manufacturing method of claim 16,wherein the laser is irradiated twice.
 19. The manufacturing method ofclaim 18, wherein an irradiation time of the laser first irradiated isgreater than an irradiation time of the laser secondly irradiated. 20.The manufacturing method of claim 18, wherein an overlap ratio of spotsof the laser first irradiated is greater than an overlap ratio of spotsof the laser secondly irradiated.